Drugs and alcohol
Addiction to drugs or alcohol is a mental illness. Substance use disorder changes normal desires, priorities, and behaviors, and interferes with the ability to work, go to school, and have good relationships with friends and family. In 2014, 20.2 million adults in the U.S. had a substance use disorder and 7.9 million had both a substance use disorder and another mental illness. More than half of the people with both a substance use disorder and another mental illness were men (4.1 million). Having two illnesses at the same time is known as “comorbidity” and it can make treating each disorder more difficult.
Tobacco
Tobacco is another substance associated with addiction and health risks. It can be smoked, chewed or sniffed. However, the most common way people consume tobacco is by smoking cigarettes. Research has shown that adults with a mental illness are more likely to smoke cigarettes than other adults. This is particularly true among people with major depression and those diagnosed with schizophrenia. It is estimated that people with psychiatric disorders purchase approximately 44 percent of all cigarettes sold in the United States. Smoking is believed to be one reason that individuals with mental illnesses have more physical health problems and die younger than people without a mental illness.
Clinical programs at UCSF Psychiatry
Our department integrates substance use disorder treatment services across our entire spectrum of clinical operations at UCSF Langley Porter Hospital (LPPH), Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG), the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS), and at locations throughout the Bay Area and northern California. The following programs and clinics are just some of our groups working directly on substance use disorder issues:
- Adult Services at LPPH
- Child and Adolescent Services at LPPH
- Child and Adolescent Services at ZSFG
- Division of Acute and Emergency Services (ZSFG)
- Division of Citywide Case Management Services (ZSFG)
- Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine (ZSFG)
- Division of Trauma Recovery Services (ZSFG)
- Mental Health Service at SFVAHCS
- Opioid Treatment Program at SFVAHCS
- Smoking Cessation Program at SFVAHCS
- UCSF Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Program for Adolescents and Young Adults (LPPH)
- UCSF Intensive Family Therapy Program (LPPH)
- UCSF Family and Community Psychiatry Program (ZSFG)
- UCSF HIV/AIDS Research Program (ZSFG)
- UCSF Intensive Family Therapy Program (LPPH)
- UCSF Juvenile Justice Behavioral Health Research Team (ZSFG)
- UCSF Substance Abuse Research Program (ZSFG)
- UCSF Young Adult and Family Center (LPPH)
Educational programs at UCSF Psychiatry
We are dedicated to training the next generation of leaders in substance use disorder researchers and clinicians. Among our educational programs focusing on addiction treatment and recovery are:
- Learning for Early Careers in Addiction & Diversity (LEAD) Program
- UCSF Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
- UCSF Postdoctoral Traineeship in Drug Abuse Treatment and Services Research Training Program
Other Bay Area resources
- Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
- API Wellness Clinic (San Francisco)
- Contra Costa Health Services
- County of Monterey Health Department
- County of San Mateo Health System
- East Bay Community Recovery Project (Oakland)
- HealthRIGHT 360 (San Francisco)
- Marin Health and Human Services
- Native American Health Center (Oakland)
- Richmond Area Multi-Services (San Francisco)
- San Francisco Department of Public Health
- Sonoma County Department of Health Services
National resources
- California Society of Addiction Medicine
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
